title: Cocaine, a risk factor for myocardial infarction.
abstract: Cocaine usage goes back thousands of years, to the times of the Incas. Over the past 20 years, its use has increased dramatically, especially in America, and adverse cardiovascular reactions to the drug have begun to be reported. The first report of myocardial infarction temporally related to the recreational use of cocaine appeared in 1982. Since then, myocardial infarction has become recognized as the drug's most common cardiovascular consequence, with over 250 cases now documented in the literature. This review discusses the history of cocaine use, its pharmacology, the possible pathological mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of myocardial ischaemia and infarction, and current ideas on the management of cocaine-induced myocardial infarction.
authors.affiliation: North Staffordshire City General Hospital, Stoke on Trent, UK.
authors.forename: G I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Galasko
mesh_terms: D003042:Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D009294:Narcotics / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D003042:Cocaine